Cotton is an important international commercial crop. It is estimated that over sixteen million acres of cotton are in production worldwide, with the 1988 worldwide production of cotton exceeding 26.1 million bales. The commercial production of cotton, as with most commercial crops, is affected by many factors not within the control of the grower. Total crop volume and timing of crop maturation are subject to the vagaries of weather as well as other factors and can be effectively controlled by the grower only by choice of planting time, the use of fertilizers, etc. There is thus a need for methods of more effectively managing crop rotation, timing of crop maturation, and crop production volume.
Similarly, the marketing of cut flowers and ornamental flowering plants is of considerable economic importance to the horticultural industry. In 1989 the total wholesale market for cut flowers, flowering plants and foliage and bedding plants amounted to approximately 2.43 billion dollars. The sale of cut flowers contributed approximately 459 million dollars to this total, and the sale of potted flowering plants contributed approximately 522 million dollars.
The marketing of these products generally involves shipping from the site where the flowers are grown to commercially important markets elsewhere in the country. The handling, packaging and shipping of both cut flowers and plants places strresses upon both which can result in damage, diminishing their commercial value to the retailer.
While methods and materials are known for protecting cut ornamental flowers from stress damage caused by shipping, the problem of protecting ornamental flowering plants from shipping damage has not been adequately addressed in the prior art. The stresses placed on cut flowers by shipping often results in early senescence (wilting) which can be due, in part, to the effects of ethylene. Ethylene gas, either produced by the plant itself in response to stress, or in the environment causes early senescence. Ethylene is known to be involved in a number of plant processes including senescence. A number of chemicals which limit ethylene-induced damage to cut flowers have been identified. These include silver thiosulfate, carboxymethoxylamine (also known as aminooxyacetic acid AOAA), L-trans-2-amino-4-(2-aminoethoxy)-3-butenoic acid (AVG), rhizobitoxine, and L-trans-2-amino-4-methoxy-3-butenoic acid (MVG). Silver thiosuffate is believed to inhibit the effect of external ethylene, while the others are believed to act internally to inhibit the ability of the cut flowers to themselves produce ethylene.
The use of silver thiosulfate for the prevention of shipping stress damage to flowering plants has been suggested (see, for example, Michael S. Reid, Greenhouse. Grower, pp. 66-67, December, 1986 and the Greenhouse Manager of November 1989 (p. 26). The use of silver salts on potted plants has not been officially approved and the proper disposal of silver salts is a subject of environmental concern. There is thus a need for effective and environmentally compatible agents for use in protecting flowering plants during shipping.